Valentines Day and MY HOUSE!!!

Happy Valentine's Day!

Jim and I TP'd the kids room while they were sleeping (and we got caught twice...Eric said "Why are you putting up Valentine's decorations?" in his half asleep stupor). We had a good time, it was fun to see them get excited in the morning. This is what they woke up to....
Then, the boys and I went to Eric's school party. It was actually really different....the kids had a breakfast party together instead of a sugar cookie decorating-get-them-all-sugared-up party. Eric spent close to 2 hours getting his store-bought valentines ready for his class on Wednesday night. He didn't want to do it at first, but once I showed him where to write his name and how to attach the candy, he did them all (16)! He really enjoyed handing out his Valentines, and looking at all of the ones given to him.
Michael was also VERY excited to be allowed to attend, and that there was food left over for him after the class got their food first. This is him eating his 3rd 1/2 donut....and Luke Seaver in the background looking at the kids getting their valentines.
After the class party, Michael and I went home to get Jim. We spent the day looking at houses...one of our favorite activities for the past 5 1/2 years. But, the main motivation was to go look at this one again...the one we call "our house." This house was built just for us, with our floorplan taken magically out of our brains, and it fits just about every need and desire we have....except for its location, which we will NOT move to. But, no other house even compares after finding the one you really want....maybe you know what thats like? The funny thing is that from the outside it is not the house I would choose, but the inside is TOTALLY MINE! Here is a picture of the outside of my house (the model home), and if you want a few interior pictures (probably 50+) I could send them to you personally. Or, for a virtual tour (of some parts of the house, not all of them), you could go to the website here: http://www.porchfronthomes.com/communities/sugar_creek/homes_floorplans/carolina/Carolina/Carolina_Study.htm

Ok, so this MY HOUSE! (I can dream)

Now, all I need is to actually get my house in a place I want to live, and some money to pay for it! And, yes, if you were wondering...donations are accepted and appreciated!

Speaking of "moving on" with life...on Valentine's Day...guess what came in the mail! Jim got his official Pharmacist License for the State of CO! He is license #17954. If you don' t believe me, go to the official website and check it out! https://www.doradls.state.co.us/alison.php?action=COMPDETAIL&ind=true&soboard=76&lickey=Njk5MDc0&t_o_p=0

So, Jim is officially licensed, and he can now apply for a job! Life is going to start moving forward again, for which we are all very happy and anxious (I think I am the most anxious, and happy, of us all).

For dinner we had a heart shaped, 1/2 pepperoni, 1/2 cheese pizza from Papa Murphy's...well, the kids did. Jim and I ate the Veggie deLite pizza that is SO GOOD! We highly recommend it! I put a red tablecloth on the table, candles, and place settings...we had a 3 course meal (kindof)! The boys ended up getting an impromptu lesson on "fancy restaurants" and multiple plates, etc...complete with individual-sized layered jello desserts! It was a good time...Eric even asked the next morning if we could have another fancy dinner! (Too bad, maybe another time...we had mac & cheese.)

Another fun thing I did this week: on Monday I went to the grocery store (by myself!!!) to do some bargain shopping... and after spending $48 (which is a lot for us to spend at the store in one blow--it probably doesn't seem like much for you, but for us it is because I bargain shop 2 stores every week and stock up, totaling about $60 average a week) ... but, back to the point: for my $48 I got $200 worth of groceries! I was SO excited! The secret: Albertson's deals, and when you bought multiples of of 10 they took $5 off your total, PLUS I had coupons for every item I bought which brought the total down even more...some items even ended up being free! It is rare that I buy a (very) full grocery cart's worth of food, but this time I felt very successful. It did help that I have a website that will help me with my coupons (getting them organized, etc...). If you want to check it out, go to http://www.couponmom.com/. You have to sign up, but don't we all have another email address we use to "sign up" for things? It is rare that I just go to the store and buy something that isn't on sale...I've learned that you can consistently save 60% or more off your grocery bill if you pay attention and eat whats is cheap that week, or stock up on non-perishable items when they are on sale.

So, the challenge to you, my friends: look for the deals, then make some steals!

And now, for one more picture of the boys...can you see their happy expressions?

Jim's 30th Rock Party!

Jim turns 30 tomorrow (Feb. 8th). He's an "Old Man"--he is, ask him--he'll agree! Last night we had his birthday party with the family. What did he want to eat for his bday dinner? Thai food for dinner from our favorite place in town. YUMMY! And his cake? Angle Food with frosting! Yes, with frosting. I'll get used to it in about 30 years. In the meantime, we let him have it and I scrape the frosting off.

Here are some pictures of blowing out the candles, and opening presents. For those of you who were around at Christmas to get presents that Eric had made....you know what is inside the brown bag! (Michael also helped make it this time--little pieces of paper that are a "marble game" they invented....very little pieces of paper. Don't ask to play, it will never make sense to you and it's something that would only really work in video-game world. I am grateful that Eric has caught the spirit of giving, and that he gets inventive and creative. Very creative. )

Today I gave Jim his bday present. Early for his actual day, late for his party. Why didn't I give it to him last night? Well, he took the 2nd of his big tests today! YEAH! I've waited for his day for like 6 months! This means that, assuming he passed (which would really surprise me if he, as the valedictorian of his class, didn't pass) he will be a LICENSED Pharm.D in about 2 weeks!

So, in celebration of him being done, and turning 30, as well as his Valentine's present from the family, we got him Guitar Hero for the Wii! I called multiple stores, searched online, and finally found a copy at Target...and packed up the kids to go get it before it was gone (Jim was at Karate). They were really good at keeping it a secret, which I was really glad for. I hid it under Grandma's bed, and I was SO EXCITED to give him something he really wanted, as a surprise, on his birthday.

Well, 2 days later, we were sitting at breakfast and talking about Dad's birthday and Michael basically said "Get Guitar Hero for your birthday". I tried to cover it up, by saying "Yes, Dad does want that for his birthday" and Michael responded "We got one at the store!" I thought it might slide by Jim if I made something else up later to cover for it, but then Eric said "Uh oh, he told Dad the surprise!" Moral of the story: why do I even try to shop with the children? Michael is still somewhat clueless, but Eric kept asking about it and whining about just buying it and not shopping anymore and so I had to explain it was a surprise...so Michael caught on to the purchase. Oh well. Jim was surprised...to know he was getting it...not to open it up. I didn't even bother wrapping it for him, I just told him to get it out from under his mom's bed.

Here he is, playing. Doesn't he look happy? This was the perfect gift for him, especially for a day like today...and that's another story (you should ask Jim about a sinkhole in I-25 and driving the wrong way down the on-ramp on his way home from his test).

Jim helped the boys play....he was so nice to share his new toy with the boys. Here he is with Eric.

My 1/2 Birthday Carnivore Barbarian Boy

Eric has talked about taking birthday cupcakes to school on his birthday. It is in the summer. So, I arranged with his teacher to take them for his 1/2 birthday. Boy, was he excited! He was very energetic the night before his special day at school, and he was driving us all bonkers with the way he was literally bouncing his head from one pillow to the next on the couch. Here are some pictures of the big event!

At school, wearing the crown he was really worried he might not get because it wasn't his real birthday. But, he did. However, when he said that morning "Maybe I'll get presents!" he was disappointed by my saying "Only on your REAL birthday" Nice try, though!

Decorating cupcakes the day before. Eric wanted the cupcakes for school to be 1/2 blue and 1/2 green frosting. This is a picture after they frosted "the other" cupcakes I let them decorate. See how happy they are?

In case you didn't notice: there is a cupcake hiding under those green sugar sprinkles. Did you see it? This was Michael's creation, which he was very proud of. Eric kept saying "Thats enough, Michael" and "Don't take them all." Being the mother I am (with the children I have), I told Eric that it was Michael's choice and he could put lots of sprinkles on if that's what he wanted to do (can't you just hear me saying this?). And then I turned around and saw what Eric was talking about:

Believe it or not (because you can't really see them), there are some of those long kind of sprinkles under the green. When it came time to eat the cupcake I became aware that the cupcake didn't have a natural hump on the top from baking. It was a FLAT cupcake with about an inch of height of sprinkles on top! It all fell off when we took the wrapper off...well, the majority of it did, at least. That took care of MOST of that container of sprinkles!

This Sunday we had turkey for dinner. I guess Grandpa didn't feel like taking the meat off the drumsticks, so they were on the plate with the rest of the pieces of meat. Eric's favorite part of KFC is the drumstick, so he really wanted the drumstick from the turkey. Ok, thats fine... and this is what it looked like. Notice how large the drumstick is when it comes from a turkey instead of a chicken! Yes, it appears to be the size of his head!

And it was hard to take a bite out of...Eric was quite the carnivore last night! It looks a little barbaric, doesn't it?

p.s. Eric did eat all of his peas...a handful at a time (literally)...I think he only used utensils to eat his Jello with whipped cream on it! I promise he usually has table manners, and they're pretty good ones at that. Oh well, I guess a night off won't hurt.

A bibycle built for 2 - and a beach trip?

Here are a few more pictures for your enjoyment!

At Kidspace Museum, where we went during our trip to CA, they have bikes built for 2. Eric really wanted to ride by himself, but finally consented to letting Michael have a ride--and to switch in a few minutes. Notice the joy in Michael's face, and a slightly grumpy Eric due to the fact he's pedaling for his brother.

Here is Michael's turn to pedal.
Back home in CO: Michael really wanted to be in "just my underwear" and then wanted his flip-flops (a.k.a. thongs) on. Can you see the European beach in his future?